Fixture carrier construction



Sept. 15,-1959 E. l.. MORRIS ET Al.

FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13, 1956 .'5 Sheets-Sheet 1Sept. 15, 1959 E. l.. MORRIS ETAL FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION FiledJuly 15, 1956 650,665 if Caer/cz IN V EN TORS Sept. 15, 1959 5.1..MORRIS EI-Al. 2,903,712

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Unite FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION Application July 13, 1956, Serial No.597,652

3 Claims. (Cl. lm-170) The present invention relates generally tocarriers for the support of plumbing fixtures on a wall of a room and isparticularly directed to means whereby such a fixture, exemplarily alavatory, may be rigidly and firmly supported and maintained inposition.

The invention contemplates the use of a steel or other rigid metalmounting plate fixed to the vertical structural members such as studs inthe wall of a building. By the use of such a mounting plate, the weightof a single plumbing fixture such as a lavatory may be distributed overa number of studs or'other vertical structural members. The mountingplate desirably includes a multiplicity of openings extendingtherethrough by which various mounting members may be fastened to themounting plate and supported thereby. One of such mounting membersdesirably provides a lirm anchor for an outwardly extending arm forconcealed arm type of support of a lavatory. In the present constructionsuch an arm includes a novel combination of elements by which thelavatory may be accurately leveled during installation and may, by thesame mechanism, be frictionally clamped and positively locked to the armand thus maintained in its desired position. Mounting members may alsobe fastened to the plate for supporting carrier arms according to theexposed arm type of construction. When the present invention is used forexposed arm construction, the arm so used and disclosed hereinafterfacilitates accurate adjustment of the arm and final leveling of thefixture supported thereby from the face of the finished wall.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be describedhereinafter by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken on line I-l of Fig. 2 andshowing a lavatory supported on a concealed arm projecting from afinished wall in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a View taken on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view, partially in section, taken on the broken line III-IIIof Fig. 2, the wall and escutcheon plate being omitted for clarity.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of thecentral portion of the device as seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line Vl-VI of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a side view, partially in section, showing an exposed type armin accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 8 is 'a plan View of the structure of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view taken on line lX-IX of Fig. 7.

Fig. l() is a sectional view taken on line X-X of Fig. 7.

The structure of Figs. l, 2 and 3 is mounted upon a pair of adjacentvertical structural members such as studs 10 and 12. A mounting plateindicated generally at 14 and a mounting plate extension indicatedgenerally at 16 are each provided with a number of holes extendingtherethrough, the holes being generally aligned in four sepa- StatesPatent rate rows 18, 20, 22 and 24. The holes are desirably horizontallyelongated as shown and holes in adjacent rows 18 and 20, and in adjacentrows 22 and 24, are desirably staggered to facilitate flexibility inattachment of the plate to structural members of varying horizontalspacing. The mounting plate 14 and the extension 16 are fastenedsecurely to the studs 10 and 12 respectively by suitable attachmentmeans. In Fig. 3 is seen a preferred form of such means comprising ametallic clip indicated generally at 26 and including a U-shaped portion28 adapted to snugly lit around a portion of the stud 10 or 12, the clip26 also including outwardly extending portions 29 and 30 provided withapertures therethrough in which are received fastening elements 31 and32 respectively. The heads 33 and 34 of the fastening elements 31 and 32engage two of the openings in one of the rows 18, 20, 22 or 24 of themounting plate and the mount? ing plate extension. Desirably themounting plate 14 and the extension 16 are each supported by therespective studs 10 and 12 by two vertically spaced stud'engaging clipsand fastening members as shown.

In order to provide the maximum rigidity of the mounting plate andextension, each of such members is provided along its ends with arearwardly turned flange 37 and 38 respectively (see Fig. 3), and theflanges are provided with registering openings for fastening elementssuch as bolt 39 by which the plate 14 and extension 16 are rigidly heldin assembled relationship. Where an installation so requires, anadditional mounting plate may be rigidly fastened to the plate 14 at theother end of such plate. A fragmentary portion of a mounting plate sofastened is indicated generally at 40.

In addition to openings in rows 18, 2li, y22 and 24 of the mountingplate and mounting plate extension, the mounting plate 14 is providedalso with a pair of enlarged openings 42 and 44. Each of these isadapted to receive the hub portion of a support member for threadedlyreceiving the inner end of the concealed arm for use in supporting afixture. Such a support member is indicated generally at 48 and includesan enlarged central hub portion 50 and upwardly and downwardlyprojecting ears 52 and 54 respectively, in each of which there isprovided an opening for the reception of fastening elements 56 forattachment to the mounting plate. Extending forwardly from the enlargedcentral portion 50 of the support member is a hub 58 including aninternally threaded bore 60. A support arm indicated generally at 62includes a threaded portion 64 engaging the internally threaded bore 60of the support member 48. The outer surface of a finished wall isindicated at 66 in Fig. 1, and a locking coupling 63 is threaded on thethreaded portion 64 of the carrier arm 62 and abuts the hub 58 to retainthe carrier arm and hub in tight assembled relationship. It isparticularly to be noted that coupling 68 is elongated and extendssubstantially outwardly of the finished wall 66 so that final adjustmentand tightening of the coupling may be easily accomplished as by a wrenchafter the finished wall is in place. A conventional frusto-conicalescutcheon plate 70 is also desirably threaded on the threaded portion64 in order to enhance the appearance of the finished structure.

The outer portion of the carrier arm 62 is formed in a U-shaped channelfacing downwardly (see Figs. 5 and 6). The channel, indicated generallyat '71, includes an upper horizontal portion 72 and a pair of downwardlyextending sides 74 and 76. The horizontal portion 72 projects outwardlyand terminates at 78 and a leveling screw 88 is desirably provided atthe outer end 78. An additional leveling screw 81 is also provided,threaded in upper portion 72 of the arm and fairly close to the innerend of the arm 62.

The present device is particularly adapted for use with a Patented Sept.15, 1959 lavatory fixture having a horizontally extending laterallyspaced channel at each side of the fixture for the reception f aconcealed arm. In order to rigidly fix such a fixture to the carrier arm62 of the present invention, a clamping member is housed within channel71 of the carrier arm 62. Such a member is indicated generally at 35 inFig. l and is seen in greater detail in the sectional View of Fig. 4.Clamp 85 extends longitudinally of the carrier arm 62 and terminates atits ends in downwardly projecting abutment elements 88 and 99.intermediate the length of the clamp 85 there is provided a verticallydisposed threaded bore 92 in which is threadedly engaged a set screw 94having its upper end 96 in abuttable contact with the lower surface ofhorizontal portion 72 defining the top of the U-shaped channel 71. Thelower central portion of clamp 85 includes a downwardly extending boss9S through which the lower end of set screw 94 extends.

The clamp 85 is maintained in desired position longitudinally of thecarrier arm 62 by suitable means which are here shown as including apair of dowel studs 10Q and 192 which are fixed to the carrier arm 62 bysuitable means such as by being threaded into threaded bores formed inthe horizontal base portion 72 of the 1-shaped channel of the carrierarm. The studs 111i) and 102 are loosely received in vertical bores 164and 1116 formed in the clump As above stated, the entire ari?L 63including the clamp S is receivable in a channel formed in the lavatoryfixture to be supported. ln the present Fig. 4, the channel portion ofsuch a fixture is indicated generally at 1nd, the fixture being assumedto be vitreous construction, and the lower surface 109 defining thechannel 1513 rests upon and is supported by the leveling screws and 81.Access openings 116 and 118 are provided in vertical alignment withleveling screws 811 and 81 respectively, and the fixture is initiallyleveled by adjust` ment of the screws by a suitable tool through suchopenings, as is well known in the art.

It will now be seen that tightening of the set screw 94 so that itspoint 96 is urged upwardly serves to impart downward force on theremaining portion of the clamp S5, particularly including the abutmentmembers 88 and 90 at the ends of the clamp. These abutment memberscontact the inner surface of the vitreous channel 1118 and therebyeliectively lock the xture including the vitreous channel 103 to thecarrier arm 62. It is especially to be noted that the loose or sloppyfit between the dowels 161) and 1192 and their respective bores 104 and106 permits the clamp 35 to orient itself within the channel 108 so thatsubstantially equal force is exerted downwardly 'by the abutment members83 and 9i? of the clamp. lt is further to he noted that the points 88and 90 of downward application of force to the fixture channel 1198 arelocated between and preferably substantially centrally of the levelingscrews 30 and S1, which exert upward force on the channel. By thisconstruction the stresses imposed on the vitreous channel are minimized.A particular feature of the present construction provides a positivelock between the arm 62 and the xture 108. An opening 11@ isconventionally formed in the bottom wall of the channel and thedownwardly projecting boss 98 extends into the opening 110. Thus, evenif frictional clamping fails, the xture is positively locked on the armby the abutting contact of boss 98 with the wall of opening 110.

Since clamp S5 is only loosely engaged by the downwardly projectingdowel studs 106 and 102, the clamp will fall downwardly of the arm 62into the channel 16S. in certain instances the boss 9S, sliding alongthe lower surface defining channel 1118, may tend to abut againstirregularities in such surface and thereby hinder the assembly ordisassembly process. In order to prevent this, means may be provided toretain the clamp upwardly within the channel 71, and in the presentillustrative embodiment such means include resilient bands 112 and 114of rubber or the like encircling arm 62 and urging clamp $5 upwardly sothat boss 98 is withdrawn out 4l. of contact with the vitreous materialdefining channel 108. It will be understood that clamp is forddownwardly against the force of resilient bands 112 and 114 by set screw94 when the fixture is to be clamped in position.

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and l() show a preferred use of the present invention inconnection with an exposed arm construction. A mounting member indicatedgenerally at is attached to the mounting plate 14 by suitable fasteningmembers 122 extending through openings formed in the upper and lowerends of the mounting member 120 as well as through selected openings inthe mounting plate 14. The mounting member 121i includes a pair ofvertically aligned threaded openings extending therethrough indicated at124 and 126, and may also be provided with a third threaded boreextending therethrough indicated at 12S, the latter named bore beingdisplaced laterally from the bores 124 and 126 and being disposedapproximately midway therebetween.

Studs 131i, 132 and 134 are threaded respectively into the bores 124,126 and 12% of the mounting member 120, the threaded studs beingretained in position by nuts 131, 133 and 135 respectively. An exposedarm is indicated generally at 14@ and desirably .-shaped as seen insection (see Fig. 10), including a relatively deep vertical portion 142and a somewhat narrower horizontal portion 144, the two portions beingformed integrally as shown. A mounting flange is provided in the arm141i and is indicated generally at 145. This mounting flange extendsperpendicularly to both the sides 142 and 144 of the arm 145i and isparallel to and spaced a substantial distance outwardly from the inneredges 143 and 145 of the vertical and horizontal walls respectively ofthe arm. The edges are abuttable against a finished wall 148 of anydesired construction.

The mounting flange 146, as is best seen in Fig. l0 is provided withvertically elongated openings 151i, 152 and 154, the verticalelongations permitting vertical adjustment of the arm relative to thestuds 130, 132 and 134, as will be understood. These studs are fastenedto the fiange by means of suitable fastening members such as nuts 156,157 adapted to clamp the flange 146 therebetween.

It is particularly to be noted that the mounting flange 146 is spacedoutwardly from intersecting edges 143 and 145 by a substantial distance,which in a typical construction is preferably at least about two inches.By this construction access is facilitated to the inner nuts 156 whenmounting the present arm into position. rThus a person doing theinstallation of an arm according to the present invention may thread theinner nuts 156 onto the studs 132, 134, positioning the inner nuts inapproximately correct location. The arm 141i is then mounted intoposition, with the outer ends of the threaded studs extending throughthe elongated openings in the mounting fiange 146 as previouslydescribed. The outer nuts 157 are then placed in position, and it willbe seen that the person may easily apply a wrench to the inner nuts 156even after the arm has been mounted in position as just described, thisby reason of the outward spacing of flange 146 from the wall.Furthermore, because of the fact that the stud 134 is offset laterallyfrom the studs and 132, the arm 141i may be easily and effectivelypositioned, after the wall is finished, to extend outwardly from thewall 148 at whatever angle is required by a given installation, in spiteof any manufacturing tolerances or imperfections which may exist in theapparatus or in the construction of the wall itself.

The upper horizontally extending portion 144 of the arm lis providedwith one or more elongated openings 160 (see Fig. 8) for the receptionof downwardly extending mounting bolts conventionally furnished with alavatory or similar fixture with which the present carrier constructionis to be used. Desirably adjacent ends of the openings 160 are providedwith transverse edges 162 l l l l and 164, so that some portion of oneof the openings 160 will be in vertical alignment with an attachmentbolt extending downwardly from the fixture regardless of where suchdownwardly extending bolt may be located in a particular xture used.Desirably a leveling screw 166 (see Fig. 7), is provided at theoutermost end of the arm 140.

Accordingly it will be seen that there is here provided improvedconstruction for the support of xtures and similar apparatus adapted toextend outwardly from a wall. Although a principal purpose and use ofthe invention is for the support of a lavatory fixture, and theinvention has been herein so described and illustrated, nevertheless itwill be understood that the present constructions are adaptable for usein the support of other equipment as well.

Modifications and changes from the specific forms of the inventionhereinabove described and illustrated will occur to those skilled in theart, and are intended to be embraced in the scope of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. In a xture carrier, the provision of: a horizontally extending,elongated carrier arm being channel-shaped in section to deiine adownwardly directed channel opening; upwardly projectable levelingscrews threadedly carried on the outer and inner ends of said carrierarm; a clamping member within said channel opening in an unclampedposition and having longitudially spaced abutments projectingdownwardly; longitudinal orienting means carried by said armsubstantially midway between the leveling means and having a looselyengageable connection with complementary means on said clamping memberfor limiting movement of the latter longitudinally of said arm; andselectively operable means carried by said clamping member andengageable with said carrier arm at a single point substantially midwaybetween said downwardly projecting abutments for selectively forcingsaid clamping member downwardly relative to said arm from the unclampedposition within said channel opening into a clamped position where saidabutments extend below the sides of the channel.

2. In a fixture carrier as stated in claim 1, the provision of:resilient means biasing said clamp member upwardly within the channelopening in said arm into the unclamped position whereby the clamp memberwill not interfere with the positioning of the carrier within a iixture.

3. In a xture carrier, the provision of: a horizontally extending,elongated carrier arm being channel-shaped in section to define adownwardly directed channel opening; upwardly projectable levelingscrews threadably carried on the outer and inner ends of said carrierarms; a clamping member within said channel opening in an unclampedposition and having longitudinally spaced abutments projectingdownwardly; said clamping member including a downwardly projectinglocking boss extending below the abutment members and receivable in anopening formed in the lower wall of a iixture; longitudinal orientingmeans carried by said arm substantially midway between the levelingmeans and having a loosely engageable connection with complementarymeans on said clamping member for limiting movement of the latterlongitudinally of said arm; and selectively operable means carried bysaid clamping member and engageable with said carrier arm forselectively forcing said clamping member downwardly relative to said armfrom the unclamped position within said channel opening into a clampedposition where said abutments and locking boss extend below the sides ofone channel.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 526,088Savill Sept. 18, 1894 1,096,967 Thompson May 19, 1914 1,224,267 BrewerMay 1, 1917 1,370,453 Kilgour Mar. 1, 1921 1,935,553 Gerard Nov. 14,1933 1,999,467 Lucke Apr. 30, 1935 2,264,082 Kintz Nov. 25, 19412,271,616 Beale Feb. 3, 1942 2,661,677 Lingelbach Dec. 8, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 216,128 Germany Nov. 12, 1909 551,839 Germany June 15, 1932653,057 Germany May 31, 1939

